4 - Lincoln to Southrey -
Fossdyke Navigation and River Witham, inc River Witham Old Course and
Nocton Delph.

Sunday 1st July 2001

We said our good bye's to Pat and Lesley and agreed to meet up with John and
Frogmoore II again at around pub time that evening - if we could find
one......for TNC were finally going ditch crawling - literally! John had to stay
with his ladies until they were due to leave Boston, by train at 15.00ish.
We
left at 08.45. Mucho piccies and video taken of Glory Hole in Lincoln. As we
arrived at Stamp End Lock, the West London Adelaide Marine hire boat
“Caroline” was just leaving. This is believed to have some book writing
geezer (Nick Corble) on it that was having 6 months on this boat. By the time
Neil had sorted the guillotine out, we were beeped by a cruiser, who joined us.
Below Lincoln the River Witham gradually opens out into a wide and deep channel.
We soon let cruiser pass. We arrived at Bardney Lock at 12.10 and the cruiser crew
(moored up) helped us with the lock. At 12.20 we turned LEFT out of the lock and
start up the River Witham (Old Course). There was once a marina up here at Short
Ferry, with the caravan park / “Tyrwhitt Inn”. JC had been up to the pub and
said the place was infested with anglers and did not welcome boaters.
Careful
progress was made up to the junction with weir stream round lock and then turned left
(12.40) continued up old course to Short Ferry Bridge and the pub........but
ignoring the “deep mud” signs we carried on. Very dodgy from now on but
managed to get all the way up to the Ferry Hill pumping station. Here we ground
to a halt as it is only a foot deep! Neil backed off and keeping close to west
bank managed to get far enough up to swing the stern into the pumping station out fall
cut. This is fairly deep and we just managed to wind, without taking out the weed
boom (13.10)
We then we carried on back to pub and the winging landlord came out, making sure
that we had not damaged the weed boom. All signs of the breach in the dike to
the abandoned marina has been eliminated, only a small bit of piling shows
its whereabouts. We got back to junction with the weir stream and turned right to try
our luck up there. There was a strong current from the weir. It was fairly easy to get up to
the weir, but
as there was such a strong flow we decided to reverse out. Fairly fast astern
passage back to junction. Pete Sykes was the bowthruster bow positioning man.
We got
back to junction at 14.10 and back at Bardney Lock at 14.25. We carried on past
the Bardney sugar factory and arrived at entrance to Nocton Delph at 15.05. This
has a sharp
angled turn, but we just assumed that flood doors were open and that it was to be
as weed free as good old John Fleming had marked on our Nicholson's when we last
here in 1996. Weed free it was and at 15.05 we start up the 3.5 miles long dike.
There was occasional lily pad infestation and a small bit of blanket weed, but problem was
depth of WATER as opposed to depth of SILT. A mile from the end the Lancaster /
Spitfire / Hurricane Battle of Britain flight came over and a few American
fighters, from the Airshow that was on that weekend. We though that the
continuing rumble of jet engines was carrying on for a long time, when we then
looked in horror at stern of boat. It was 4 inches out on the water and the
noise was air being drawn under counter! Still we carry on and get to within a
stones throw of the end / junction (N 53 degrees 10.115 minutes, W 00 degrees
21.870 minutes-- O^S Sheet 121 087645 ) with Car Dyke at 16.40. This was
by a water pump intake, going passed this would have got us “off channel”.
Fortunately there was not too much weed at this end as
reversing out required a LOT of thrashing and power. Soon Neil had enough of
this and with a LOT of dredging / poling / bowthruster we manage a wind. (17.00
to 17.15) Going back was much easier, as long as we did not stray from “our”
cut. We got back to flood doors at 18.05 and waited until 18.35 for the arrival of
John Chapman in Frogmoore II. After a bit of going past it confusion we both
moor up at the Dunston Fen pontoon VM at 19.00. This is opposite Southrey and
has the excellent “White Horse” pub, where we spent the rest of the evening.
Batemans beer and a nice steak. Very friendly landlord. It ended up an overcast but
hot evening, so we stayed outside all the time.

Looking back to Fossdyke Navigation. Brayford Pool. Lincoln.

Lincoln University. Brayford Pool. Lincoln.

VM and Harbourmasters Office. Brayford Pool. Lincoln.

The River Witham comes in here, from the SE corner. Brayford Pool. Lincoln.